The 15th International Congress of Radiation Research (ICRR 2015) will be held in Kyoto, Japan, from May 25 to May 29, 2015. The theme of ICRR 2015 is “Radiation Science Shaping the Future of the Earth and Mankind”

Radiation science is a comprehensive research area that covers many branches such as radiation-related physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine, each of which has progressed remarkably in recent years. Radiation science is nowadays an advanced science that is closely linked to human societies and applicable to life in many aspects.

The accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011 caused serious concerns worldwide regarding the risk of excessive radiation exposure. ICRR 2015 is expected to be a good platform to summarize the accident from various viewpoints, to exchange ideas and to reach a consensus among academic communities and societies.

On the other hand, radiation science contributes greatly to medical innovations which obviously provide tremendous benefits for mankind. Radiation therapy, a core treatment modality for cancer treatment, has progressed greatly over the past 20 years thanks to research in radiation biology and medical physics.

In ICRR 2015, the latest discoveries in each research field as well as interdisciplinary research will be presented. Invitation of renowned scientists and travel support for young investigators are planned.

Kyoto is known as a city of students with thirty-seven institutions of higher education enriched with different academic flavors. In addition, Kyoto was the ancient capital of Japan for over 1000 years and still is an acclaimed cultural center. It boasts fourteen UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, as well as literally thousands of beautiful temples, shrines and other sites of historical and cultural interest.

We believe that holding the 15th ICRR in Kyoto would not only provide the congress with a firm academic setting, but also would imbue the event with added benefits of a historically and culturally rich location.